[24] Tourism group calls for immediate summertime schedule for museums

While chairing a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Prime Minister George
Papandreou reportedly blamed the latest plunge of market confidence in
Greek debt on the complexity of the debt crisis but also 'dissonance',
as he said, within the European Union, government sources said.

Referring to the 'road map' he presented before Easter, he stressed
that this had outlined the framework for putting the economy in order
and that the plan that the government would unveil in a few days would
help bring the country out of the crisis.

The prime minister strongly criticised those recycling speculation that
Greece will restructure its debt and pointed out that similar scenarios
centring on a Greek default had been circulating a year earlier, before
Greece signed the agreements for the 110-billion-euro loans from the
IMF and European Union.

He stressed that rampant speculation and fear-mongering should not be
allowed to dominate politics and the media, or to affect the government's
responsible attitude toward tackling the crisis.

Papandreou was also scathing in his criticism of media pundits and
political parties, saying the majority preferred to prophesy doom and,
at times inadvertently, linked themselves with specific interests.

The prime minister pointed out that much had been done in the year since
Greece had signed the Memorandum for the EU-IMF loans, most of which
would not have been predicted by even the most optimistic.

He emphasised that the government should focus on doing its job and also
commented on rumours of early elections or a reshuffle, saying these were
issues that were minor compared with the major and significant problems
facing the country. The government did not have the luxury to waste time
on such issues, he added.

"We have an obligation to use all our strength to achieve the fiscal
targets that are a condition for our country's success and to carry out
the major changes that are our goal," Papandreou emphasised.

In a later report dealing with the Cabinet meeting, Education Minister
Anna Diamantopoulou underlined that a "deficit of unity", effectiveness
and determination is being observed lately, adding that the talks on
debt restructuring will intensify ahead of the next troika visit.

On his part, Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos said the government will
have to adopt a firm stance as regards the debt restructuring issue and
called for an institutional intervention by the EU to prevent relevant
discussions during the troika visit.

The government's medium-term plan was not discussed in the cabinet
meeting. However, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou and government
vice-president Theodoros Pangalos expressed reservations as regards the
operation of the justice system.

The ministry of finance intents to finish with the technical details
of the medium-term plan by the end of next week and settle additional
details concerning different government ministries while deciding on the
"ceiling" that will be placed on expenditures.

[02] PM reiterates need for ceasefire, implementation of UNSC resolutions
to top Libyan official

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou spoke on Thrusday by telephone with
Libyan Premier al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmudi, with the former reportedly
stressing to the Libyan official the need for an immediate ceasefire in
the North African country and the full implementation of UNSC resolutions.

Speaking to reporters, Droutsas reaffirmed Greece's "absolute confidence"
in the Serb government, which "has shown that it is devoted to the target
of European accession, a vision that Athens shares".

On his part, Dacic expressed satisfaction over the meeting, stressing the
personal ties with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and Droutsas,
thanking Athens for its support and referring to the two countries'
historical and economic ties.

President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias and Serb President Boris
Tadic will jointly inaugurate the landmark Nebojsa Tower in Belgrade
on Friday. The recently renovated tower was the prison in which Greek
independence struggle hero Rigas Velestinlis (also known as Ferraios)
was put to death by Ottoman Turkish authorities in 1798.

Following the inauguration ceremony, Papoulias will be shown around all
four levels of the new museum and then have a private meeting with his
Serb counterpart, after which there will be a dinner in honour of the
Greek delegation.

Papoulias will be accompanied by Deputy Foreign Minister Spyros Kouvelis
and his itinerary during his stay in Belgrade will include a visit to
the Serb Patriarch.

The renovation of Nebojsa Tower was funded by Greece and the municipality
of Belgrade and carried out over two years, at a cost 1.8 million
euros. The Greek state, via the Greek foreign ministry international
developmental aid service 'Hellenic Aid' has paid 1.38 million euro
toward the project.

The tower will serve as a museum exhibit site featuring exhibits related
to the life and work of Rigas Feraios and also to the Serbs own struggle
for independence from Ottoman rule. The second storey of the four-storey
tower will be devoted to Feraios and the Greek revolution.

Other exhibits will focus the tower's use as a prison at the end of the
18th and the start of the 19th centuries.

Nejbosa Tower is a medieval structure built by Hungarians on the ruins of
an older Roman tower dating from the 1st century A.D. It was destroyed
and rebuilt several times in its history. Rigas Feraios was imprisoned
there for roughly seven months before he was put to death by Turks,
becoming one of the first martyrs of Greece's struggle for independence.

The reference to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (fYRoM) as
"Macedonia" was due to a mistake by an employee of the UN's Secretariat,
regarding a UN announcement on the meeting between the Foreign minister
of the neighbouring country Antonio Milososki with UN Secretary General
Ban Ki-moon, according to explanations given by his office's director
to the Greek Permanent Representative, anbassador Anastasis Mitsialis.

The Greek side reacted immediately when the mistaken recording was
ascertained in the UN's website earlier in the night. The Greek
ambassador communicated with the director of the secretary general's
office, stressing that the UN's Secretariat must be the guardian of
the Organisation's decisions which impose the use of the term Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedoinia without exception. He also stressed
the strong dissatisfaction of Athens over this new case of a mistake
by a Secretariat's employee and asked to be informed on the action the
Secretariat intends to take for such mistakes not to be repeated.

The Secretariat's officials proceeded with the immediarte correction of
the mistake, at 8:30 in the morning (New York time).

The proposal tabled by 112 ruling PASOK deputies on the establishment of
an investigating committee to probe possible responsibilities of former
PASOK minister Akis Tsohatzopoulos in purchase of three German-made
submarines was accepted by the Parliamentary plenum on Thursday with
226 votes in favour and nine against.

The decision was taken with a secret ballot in which 250 deputies voted,
while the Parliamentary group of the Popular Orthodox Rally (LA.O.S)
party (15 deputies) did not participate, having withdrawn from the
process earlier along with five deputies of the newly formed Democratic
Alliance. Nine "present" votes were also cast, as well as one blank and
five invalid ones.

On Thursday, Parliament President Filippos Petsalnikos will address
letters to party leaders to appoint their members to the committee, which
is expected to convene next week. According to Petsalnikos' decision,
the deadline provided for the committee to table its report and whatever
substantiating evidence is June 6, 2011.

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) spokesman Yiannis Mihelakis was
scathing in his criticism of apparent disagreements between Environment
Minister Tina Birbili and Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou over
plans to raise revenue through measures legalising buildings erected
without valid permits.

"These people do not even know what they are signing," he said of the
ruling party, pointing out that there was provision for the sums raised
this way in the 2011 budget passed by PASOK.

"When Mrs. Birbili signed the budget, didn't she know where this 400 or
300 million euro was coming from?" Mihelakis asked.

The spokesman also noted that the rise in Greek bond spreads clearly
reflected the failure of the government's policy.

Commenting on a VPRC opinion poll published in 'Epikaira', the spokesman
said the gap between the two main parties was closing and was now just one
percentage point. ND's goal was to persuade undecided voters that it had
a programme capable of leading the country out of the crisis, he added.

"There is hope and a way out. The government is creating a sense of
suffocation, a national depression," he said.

Concerning claims in 'Epikaira' that the government was proceeding with
additional hiring in the public sector, Mihelakis stressed that the
government had to reply to the claims since the paper was citing entries
in the government gazette approving 8,000 new government positions.

"Instead of abolishing positions we are establishing them, driving the
state's operating costs sky-high," he added.

The outcome of the first General Assembly of the newly-established
Episcopal Conference of Austria as well as the overall issues of the
country's 500,000 Orthodox faithful, were presented to the Austrian
Federal President Heinz Fischer by the Conference's president, Greek
Orthodox Metropolitan of Austria-Exarch of Hungary and Central Europe
Michael, during the courtesy call paid by its members to the presidential
mansion in Vienna, on Thursday.

Metropolitan Michael was accompanied by the bishops of the Orthodox
Churches of Russia, Romania and Serbia and the president of the Ecumenical
Council of Churches in Austria.

Metropolitan Michael, stressing during the federal president's briefing
that the Orthodox faithful in Austria constitute an inseparable part
of its religious landscape, hailed the impending amendment in the
Austrian Law on Orthodoxy with which, among other things, the Episcopal
Conference of Austria that was established last October is recognised as
the official interlocutor for the Austrian Republic, while the possibility
of the recognition of Orthodox bishoprics in the country is also settled.

On the sombre occasion this past week of the 25th anniversary of the
Chernobyl (Chornobyl) catastrophe, the embassy of Ukraine in Greece will
host a commemorative event on Friday, April 29.

April 26, 2011 marked the 25th anniversary of the nuclear power
plant catastrophe, which produced disastrous consequences on the
environment, human health and a deterioration of the social, economic
and quality-of-life conditions in the surrounding region.

During the event on Friday, a documentary film entitled "Chornobyl - The
Chronicle of Hard Weeks" will be shown, while a photographic exhibition
focusing on the devastating industrial accident -- with materials provided
by the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform -- will be inaugurated.

Regional Development & Competitiveness Minister Mihalis Chryssohoidis
presented two draft laws for second reading at a Cabinet meeting on
Thursday, draft laws aimed at improving the business environment, while
defining company pre-bankruptcy procedures and establishing a concrete
contractual framework for realtors and real estate agents.

A draft law on brand names and products was brought for the first
time before the Cabinet, and aims at improving and updating brand name
protection.

Chryssohoidis and Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou also
recommended Greece's participation in the European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (EBRD) share capital increase.

The Troika will focus on the Medium-Term Fiscal Strategy Programme, the
process of privatisations and the utilisation of public property and
the financial ability of Greek banks on a medium-term horizon, during
the next assessment of the course of the Greek economy that will take
place in mid-May.

This was stressed by the senior adviser of the IMF's External Relations
David Holley, who clarified that the delegation of the IMF, the ECB and
the EU will assess the implementation so far of what has been agreed
and to what degree the targets set have been achieved.

The ratification of the loan tranche to Greece that, if the assessment
is positive, will be paid in June, will be judged by the results of the
assessment of May.

Speaking during the IMF's regular briefing, Holley reiterated the Fund's
steadfast position against the restructuring of the Greek debt.

Lastly, the Fund's official denied reports of the impending arrival of
the IMF's general director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn in Greece in May in
the framework of a joint initiative with the ECB's president, Jean-Claude
Trichet and the EU's Finance commissioner, Olli Rehn.

European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki
held talks here on Thursday with Cyprus Agriculture, Natural Resources
and Environment Minister Demetris Eliades, during a visit to Cyprus.

She praised Cyprus as an "excellent example" of the absorption of European
Union funds in a creative and beneficial manner, referring especially
to a fishing shelter that she will inaugurate at the village of Zygi on
Friday with Cyprus President Demetris Christofias.

"That was a typical example where European funds were used in the best
possible way," she said.

Her talks with the Cyprus agriculture minister had focused on the
preparations for Cyprus' EU presidency during the second half of 2012,
Damanaki told reporters.

The Commissioner said that the European Commission would announce her
proposals for a major reform of the common fishing policy during the
summer. She described the proposed reforms as deep and radical, designed
to bring European fisheries in lines with the new state of affairs that
now existed in terms of the environment and society.

The Cyprus presidency of 2012 would play an important role in further
promoting the reforms, she added.

Damanaki said that they had also agreed on issues concerning small-scale,
coastal fishing and pointed out that the European Commission was keen
to protect small fishermen, who tended to fish in ways more friendly to
the environment and greatly boosted employment.

Concerning the harassment of Cypriot fishing boats by Turkey and its
continued refusal to allow Cyprus-flagged vessels to dock at Turkish
ports and harbours, Damanaki stressed that the European Commission's
position was unchanged.

"The chapter on fishing, along with other chapters [in EU accession
negotiations], remains closed and is linked with the demand of the
European Commission that Turkey proceed to implement the Protocol and
open its ports," she pointed out.

Eliades also stressed Turkey's violations of the rights of the Cyprus
Republic under EU treaties and expressed satisfaction that Damanaki had
repeated the Commission's position on these issues.

The dependence of Greek banks on the European Central Bank continued to
drop in February, according to figures released by the Bank of Greece
on Thursday. These showed that sums borrowed by Greek banks from the
ECB fell to 90.4 billion euro in February 2011, from 94.4 billion euro
in January 2011.

The Bank of Greece has asked highstreet banks to submit plans that will
gradually 'wean' them from dependence on capital supplied by the ECB
by mid-May.

The trade union (GENOP) that represents employees at the state-run Public
Power Corp. (PPC) on Thursday threatened legal action "to safeguard the
PPC employees' social insurance fund assets, estimated at 11.9 billion
euros, which are incorporated into the company assets", as it announced.

GENOP President Nikos Fotopoulos made the announcement during a press
conference, while he also suggested that -- in an effort to avert the
company's further privatisation -- "PPC employees are ready to lend the
state the estimated 400 million euros expected to be collected after 17
pct of the company shares are sold".

The union's leadership is scheduled to meet later on Thursday to
decide on the form and date of mobilisations against the planned
privatisation. According to proposals, the powerful union will hold
48-hour repeated strikes launched a week before a relevant draft law is
submitted to Parliament.

Commenting on the effects the strikes will have on consumers, Fotopoulos
said the industrial action is a legal right and there are consequences
every time it is exercised. He also maintained that if the PPC
privatisation proceeds it will result in skyrocketing electricity bills.

The PPC employees' trade union also criticised Finance Minister George
Papaconstantinou and Public Administration General Inspector Leandros
Rakintzis, whos inspectors have concluded that financial support allocated
to the GENOP union by PPC's management over previous years was illegal.

The clash between the health ministry and state hospital suppliers
escalated on Thursday after suppliers announced a three-day 'warning'
embargo starting on Monday.

In a press conference, the suppliers of surgical gloves, cotton wool,
syringes and other basic hospital supplies claimed that their businesses
were in danger of closing due to the debts accumulated by hospitals and
that at least 1,000 people would lose their jobs as a result.

They said an emergency system would be set up to ensure that hospitals
could be supplied in cases of serious need, so as not to endanger or
cause hardship to patients.

The president of the suppliers' association claimed that only 31 percent
of the money owed to suppliers by hospitals for 2010 had so far been
paid. He also stressed that the bonds used to settle debts for past
years are not cashed in advance by any bank.

Stocks prices mostly stabilised at the Athens Stock Exchange on Thursday,
with the market posting a marginal gain of 0.08 pct on the omposite index
to end at 1,401.16 points. Turnover was a low 92.05 million euros, of
which 24.73 million involved a package of Piraeus Bank shares purchased
by a foreign fund -- 23,574,826 shares at 1.05 euros.

The Big Cap index was up a negligible 0.03 pct, the Mid Cap index ended
0.65 pct up and the Small Cap index posted gains of 0.78 pct. Utilities
(3.37 pct) and Health (0.38 pct) were the only sectors posted the
biggest gains, while Foodstuffs (2.25 pct) and Insurances (1.69 pct)
suffered the heaviest percentage losses of the day.

Broadly, decliners led advancers by 73 to 74 with another 46 issues
unchanged.

Sector indices ended as follows:

Insurance: -1.69%

Industrials: -0.96%

Commercial: -1.07%

Construction: +0.08%

Media: -0.34%

Oil & Gas: +0.64%

Personal & Household: +0.61%

Raw Materials: +1.19%

Travel & Leisure: -1.33%

Technology: +0.07%

Telecoms: -0.51%

Banks: +0.68%

Food & Beverages: -2.25%

Health: +2.30%

Utilities: +3.37%

Chemicals: -0.38%

Financial Services: +1.51%

The stocks with the highest turnover were Piraeus Bank, National Bank,
OPAP and Alpha Bank.

Selected shares from the FTSE/ASE-20 index closed in euros as follows:

The 10-year Greek benchmark bond yielded 15.79 pct in the domestic
electronic secondary bond market on Thursday, while the German Bund
yielded 3.25 pct, with the yield spread rising to a record high of 1,254
basis points.

Turnover in the market was 52 million euros, of which 18 million were
buy orders and the remaining 34 million sell orders. The five-year
benchmark bond was the most heavily traded security with a turnover of
10 million euros.

In interbank markets, interest rates changed lightly. The 12-month rate
was 2.12 pct, the six-month rose to 1.66 pct, the three-month was 1.37
pct and the one-month rate was 1.22 pct.

The June contract on the FTSE 20 index was trading at a discount 1.36
pct in the Athens Derivatives Exchange on Thursday, with turnover
rising to 34.590 million euros. Volume on the Big Cap index totaled
9,207 contracts worth 28.743 million euros, with 30,075 open positions
in the market. Volume in futures contracts on equities totaled 14,195
contracts worth 5.846 million euros, with investment interest focusing
on National Bank's contracts (4,741), followed by Piraeus Bank (3,353),
Alpha Bank (1,952), Eurobank (1,513), OTE (641) and PPC (486).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday announced that Greek Prime
Minister George Papandreou is to receive a World No Tobacco Day Award
for his steadfast campaign and tough anti-smoking legislation in Greece.

The decision was announced in Moscow during the first global health
ministers' conference on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), for which
tobacco use is a major risk factor.

The World No Tobacco Day awards are given to individuals who have made a
significant contribution to reducing tobacco use and part of the reasoning
used for presenting the award to Papandreou was the "political courage"
he displayed in passing potentially unpopular measures at a time when
the Greek government was also adopting strict austerity measures to exit
the economic crisis.

The award will most likely be presented when the WHO officially
inaugurates its first special bureau for NCDs for southeastern Europe
in Athens on June 3.

Seventy people were arrested during a police sweep conducted in central
Athens late on Wednesday night, between 5:30-11:30 p.m.

Police officers conducted checks of 1236 individuals and 275 vehicles,
bringing 438 people into police stations for questioning. Of the 70 placed
under arrest, 52 were illegal immigrants and will be detained pending
deportation from the country, 12 were arrested for prostitution-related
offences, five for gambling and one for drug offences.

Earlier on Wednesday, police and financial crime squad officers also
conducted a raid on two houses on Fylis Street where they found 18 foreign
nationals lacking valid documents, as well as 10 fake passports of various
countries, 5 Italian foreign national registration documents and another
three Italian documents, four visas, 38 photographs of foreign nationals
and two computer hard disks that are now being investigated. One foreign
national was arrested as the person responsible for the building.

Small teams of police also patrolled to locate illegal street traders,
confiscated 1509 articles on sale.

Police in Alexandroupolis, NE Greece, in cooperation with Frontex
forces, intercepted eight illegal migrants in the Peplo district (Evros
prefecture) on the Greek-Turkish frontier, it was announced on Thursday.

The illegal migrants were spotted by a Frontex aircraft patrolling over
the area, and were intercepted while disembarking from a flimsy inflatable
craft onto the Greek bank of the Evros River. A pair of migrant smugglers
managed to flee back to the Turkish side of the river, authorities said.

Local officials and residents of the major northwest port city of
Igoumenitsa will reportedly block the main harbour on Tuesday in order
to pressure the government to take measures over the problem of illegal
immigrants congregating at the port and surrounding land.

The specific day was chosen for the protest rally in the port, since
truck traffic boarding Italy-bound ferry boats is expected to increase
on Tuesday.

An announcement signed by the mayor of Igoumenitsa, Georgios Katsinos,
underlined that "the problem from the presence of illegal immigrants
in our city negates every effort for the region's growth. The expected
benefits from the operation of major projects, such as the Egnatia
Motorway and the port, have been abolished in practice."

As the mayor clarified, replying to a relevant question by the ANA-MPA,
"the situation constitutes an obstacle for the growth of the region,
because the first image a tourist has in the port is negative.

"Exactly opposite the anchorage of ships docking from Italy, at Ladohori,
is the migrants' encampment; shoddy huts of wood and nylon under the
trees. They move about in groups, in a wretched state, through the port. A
visitor feels insecure and this is confirmed by the calls we receive at
the municipality on a daily basis," he said.

[24] Tourism group calls for immediate summertime schedule for museums

The national Federation of Tourism Enterprises (GEPOET) on Thursday
called on the culture and tourism minister to issue a decision that
will immediately implement summertime opening hours for museums and
archaeological sites nationwide.

The federation underlined that the delay recorded makes the scheduling
of summer season tourist visits to museums and archaeological sites
impossible.

A press conference on the 28th Athens Fun Run was held on Thursday at
the Athens City Hall. The Athens Fun Run, organised by the City of Athens
and its Youth and Sport Organisation (ONA), constitutes the biggest mass
sporting event organised at local government level in Greece.

The 28th Athens Fun Run will take place on Sunday, May 15, 2011, beginning
at 10 a.m., with the Panathinaiko (Panathenian) Stadium as the kick-off
point for participants.

This year's Athens Fun Run is dedicated to the Special Olympics World
Summer Games Athens 2011 and aims to spread a message of participation,
brotherhood, social solidarity and the acceptance of participating
individuals with special skills.

Rainy weather and northerly winds are forecast in most parts of the
country on Friday, with wind velocity reaching 3-6 beaufort. Temperatures
will range between 7C and 22C. Fair in Athens, with northerly 3-5 beaufort
winds and temperatures ranging from 12C to 21C. Cloudy with possible
local showers in Thessaloniki, with temperatures ranging from 9C to 20C.